TY - JOUR T1 - Chlamydia screening in primary care JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 491 LP - 493 VL - 54 IS - 504 AU - Pippa Oakeshott AU - Phillip Hay AU - Mark Pakianathan Y1 - 2004/07/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/54/504/491.abstract N2 - SEXUAL health in the United Kingdom (UK) has shown little improvement over the past decade. Diagnoses of chlamydia are increasing, teenage pregnancies are not yet down and there are long waits for genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic appointments.1 Two articles in this month's Journal and a parliamentary report highlight further problems. A qualitative focus group study by McNulty et al found that general practitioners (GPs) are often too busy to screen for chlamydia and feel that they don't know enough.2 Similarly, interviews with 71 female street-based commercial sex workers in Bristol revealed that although they do attend general practice, they do not disclose their occupation and they do not receive optimal care.3 Finally, a House of Commons Select Committee recently completed an inquiry into the sexual health of the nation.4 They found a ‘crisis in sexual health’ and little evidence that primary care trusts were ready to take on responsibilities for sexual health commissioning. ‘The whole sexual health service seems to be a shambles’.5A major recommendation of the National strategy for sexual health and HIV, published in 2001,6 was that chlamydia screening be rolled out more rapidly. What are the implic-ations for primary care and what do GPs need to know? Chlamydia trachomatis is a much publicised, common, treatable sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can cause pelvic inflammatory disease but produces few symptoms in up to 70% of women and 50% of men. After one episode of pelvic inflammatory disease, around 15% of women may become infertile, 10% suffer chronic pelvic pain and 10% of subsequent pregnancies may be ectopic, which can be life threatening. Chlamydia … ER -